By Sabiu Abdullahi
Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon have agreed to work together to reduce the export of raw cocoa beans after signing the Abuja Declaration at the 2026 Cocoa Value Addition Summit in Abuja.
The agreement seeks to unite the four countries as a single negotiating bloc in discussions with international cocoa buyers. Together, the countries account for about 75 percent of global cocoa production.
The declaration also reflects a broader commitment to promote local processing and branding of cocoa products instead of exporting raw beans.
President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, said Nigeria would end the practice of exporting raw cocoa while importing finished chocolate products.
“Nigeria will no longer export raw beans while importing finished value.
“We will grind our beans at home, we will press our butter at home, we will make our chocolate at home, brand it at home and sell it to the world on our own terms.”
Tinubu disclosed that investors are constructing a 70,000-tonne cocoa processing facility in Sagamu, Ogun State, which he described as the largest in Nigeria’s history. He also said the country’s installed cocoa grinding capacity now exceeds 120,000 tonnes annually.
The president added that the Bank of Industry (BOI), one of the summit’s co-conveners, has funding available for viable cocoa projects.
Speaking at the event, BOI Managing Director Olasupo Olusi said Nigeria produces more than 300,000 tonnes of cocoa every year, but only about 50,000 tonnes of its installed processing capacity is currently in use.
Olusi said the bank disbursed more than N164 billion to over 3,500 agro-processing businesses in 2025. He added that BOI also secured a €60 million credit facility from the European Investment Bank to support cocoa value addition.
According to him, the bank will introduce dedicated financing for cocoa processing, ingredient manufacturing, packaging, and chocolate production.
“We are not approaching cocoa as a lending programme; we are building an industrial ecosystem,” Olusi said.
Minister of State for Industry John Owan Enoh said the alliance would help African cocoa-producing countries secure a larger share of the global chocolate market, which is valued at more than $130 billion.
“We are not interested in exporting anonymous sacks anymore. We are interested in exporting value,” he said.
Enoh also said the four countries would adopt a common position on the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation, which is scheduled to take effect for large and medium-sized cocoa operators on December 30, 2026. He said the bloc would seek recognition of its national traceability systems and oppose any move to transfer compliance costs to smallholder farmers.
He added that Nigeria had adopted a Cocoa Value Addition Accord to improve cocoa processing and farmers’ incomes. A delivery council will oversee implementation and publish annual progress reports.
Also speaking, Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Ransford Abbey, said Africa produces between 75 and 77 percent of the world’s cocoa but earns less than 10 percent of the value generated by the global chocolate industry.
“We do not need charity. We deserve equity. The time has come for Africa to process its own wealth, protect its farmers and negotiate with one voice in the global cocoa market,” Abbey said.
He also noted that global cocoa prices had dropped sharply after rising above $11,000 per tonne in late 2024, a development that forced Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to reduce producer prices.
The summit ended with the adoption of both the Abuja Declaration and the Cocoa Value Addition Accord.